Before I start, I'd like to say that I hope all of you have had, are having or will have an amazing Christmas, Yule, Yalda, Hanukkah, Bodhi, Newtonmas, Hogswatch, or whatever you choose to celebrate. For most of us, New Year is coming up and I wish post titles were optional here, because it's either me lacking originality, or the afternoon coffee I just finished kicking in, but I can not think of a caption that does not make this entry sound like a cheesy recap of 2014, or an excuse for what most parents would call an 'immature decision' (who am I kidding, it's a mixture of both). I'm one of those people who never make New Year's resolutions, and I tend to set my own dates for celebrating my achievements or new beginnings. Hence why, in terms of life events, my 2014 started on the 26th of May, 2013, and ended last October. This was the length of my post-high school gap year. A gap year was one of the first and best life choices I have had to make for myself - it gave me time to find a job relevant to my interests (yeah, better resume), I realised what's important to me in life and what I love doing (I'm not known for being very decisive) and it renewed my motivation and urge to learn. But, best of all, I had the opportunity to see many new and familiar places. Since I'm in a long-distance relationship, most of my resources were spent on one particular UK village, but even then, we tried not to stay in one place. So, to send the astronomical 2014 off, here's a calendar of some of the highlights of 'my own' year:

Spontaneous trip with my dear friend to Vratsa in June, 2013. It was her first time on a train!

Exploring London with my other half in August. It was a weekday and there was a cycling marathon, so we had the city to ourselves.

Later that month, I was admiring a sunset in Pomorie.

Nope, I'm not repeating myself by accident - I just couldn't stay away for long, so we made another trip in October.

And fast-forward to the final picture of 2013, when we spent New Year's eve on a rooftop in the middle of Sofia. I'm cheating - it's not travel for me, but it was for mi amore.

Exploring Amsterdam on my own in February - it definitely shone brighter than when I first saw it.

Me and a friend really wanted to sit on the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones, so we chased it across the country to Veliko Tarnovo in April.

And a bit after that, mine and my other half's favourite bands were on a tour, so we thought we should pop over to Paris to see them. As you do.

Some of you are probably familiar with the rest of it, but anyway - back to Pomorie in July, this time with mi amore again. Even if it's just me in the photo (all of the others were already uploaded).

And finally...

In August, my love introduced me to Wales, his home country, for the first time. And I fell in love.

Have a wonderful time this New Year, and I hope 2015 is unforgettable in all the best ways possible.

☽ Finishing your essays and assignments early and enjoying your free time to the fullest.

☽ How it feels like Grimes songs and Sailor Moon would go perfectly together.

☽ Laced curtains drawing patterns on your bare skin.

☽ Actually throwing glitter on people.

☽ Incense that smells like a forest after rain.

☽ Looking for gifts for someone and finding that one thing 'made' especially for them.

☽ The courage of Hobbits.

I haven't been active in a while, as I was temporarily overpowered by university and work. This is no excuse and I will try to avoid such occasions in the future. For now, I hope this brings some magic into your days, and I hope you guys will share some of your own Little Healing Spells with me - I like to smile too, you know!

"Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale."

- Lauren DeStephano

Golden, calm, quiet, melancholic, rainy, crisp, pure, full of memories and emotions long forgotten. I love the sound of autumn - it sounds like poetry. So, instead of feeling sad that you'll have to leave your beer aside until the next month with no 'r' in its name, enjoy the final rays of sunshine. They'll be gone for a while too.

❦Sweater weather is back. And so are knee high socks, combat boots, hoodies, beanies and the incorporation of all these elements into a single outfit. It's when clothes feel the most comfortable, at least to me. Don't worry, it's warm enough back home to just walk around in a plaid shirt or a fluffy pullover.

❦The aroma of apple and cinnamon tea, roasted pumpkin, burning firewood and petrichor. There's a special Witches brew I like to make to enhance the atmosphere at home - you can find it here. I also like to add a bit of caraway to the concoction, gives it a whole new dimension.

Note: this recipe is for aroma only, though I tend to nibble on the fruits once I've finished.

❦DIY decorations with 'raw' materials. And by that, I mean golden leaves, dried sticks, fir/pine/spruce cones and any other objects found lying around outside. Glue them together to create paintings, or sew them onto hemp strings to create garlands and wreaths. Try sticking some leaves and/or short sticks on the outside of a transparent glass candlestick or mason jar. Witches do love their jars.

❦ On that note, Halloween decorations and Halloween itself. No matter what you celebrate on the night of the 31st (and believe me, the options are plenty), you have to admit there's something cute and liberating about wearing the costumes and masks we choose for ourselves, for once.

❦October. I'm a spring child myself, but October is definitely one of my favourite months. It's when the sun caresses, but doesn't sting, it's when the wind is cool but not cold. What's more, it's the birth month of the two most important male figures in my life - my father and my soulmate.

❦Time to light the fireplace. I know not everyone has one in their home, but there's also bonfires and lanterns and scented candles. See if you feel the difference between artificial and natural warmth.

Now, there's plenty of other things I love about autumn, but if I wrote any more down I'd take more time from your exploring and crafting away. You can tell me what you love about autumn instead. No, I will not accept "I don't like autumn at all" for an answer - I'm sure you'll find at least one thing you don't get to experience during any other time of the year.

I started noticing a marked difference in the way I perceive famous artworks and landmarks when I stopped allowing room for others' opinions into my own experience. Or at least I've become sceptical of enthusiasts and travel bloggers who mention feeling mysterious vibrations and any sort of aura emitting from the former. When magic is spoken of too often, it fades into gossip and, as we drove to Stonehenge after leaving Wales only a few hours earlier, I braced myself for disappointment. The eager crowd attracted my attention first. Dozens, maybe hundreds of people, all looking in one spot, all seeing different things. When all this is through, a mother will visit her son in his new home and say it's merely a pile of rocks left behind after some deity's drunken game of dominoes. But a daughter, drawn in by curiosity and potential, will resolve to become an archaeologist and give the world facts instead of opinions. As I delved further into these thoughts, I failed to notice we'd already crossed the field separating the entrance from the actual monument. And there it was - the circle of stone giants. I stopped and stared at them in a daze. And they stared back.

Ever predictable tourist shots.

As August became September, autumn rains began to fall. I'm taking full advantage of the last patches of green I'll see for a while. Any drive is made much more enjoyable when you're concealed beneath tunnels of deciduous trees.

After a two days rest, consisting of comedy films, Top Gear and walks around parks, it was time to set out for a night around London. At least it's fairly easy to stay awake at our age, especially when you've stocked up on energy drinks (I am loyal to Pussy, my partner's more of a Rockstar).

Here's a tip for anyone who wants good shots of London at night: parking on Waterloo bridge is allowed and it has a breathtaking view of the London Eye and Elizabeth Tower (falsely known as Big Ben). We did give the whole 'cute couple picture' thing a go, but with our flashgun forgotten and alone back in my partner's room, they didn't turn out quite so well.

One unexpected thing we discovered about London was that King's Cross station does, in fact, close at some part of the night. This is the tragically heartbreaking story of how, on the 1st of September, I missed my train to Hogwarts.

After a bit of roaming around, featuring a glimpse of Mick Jagger's former residence - Downe House in Richmond, we decided to get a few hours' sleep. Of course, parking right next to Richmond park was bound to attract the attention of security guards, but it was still a public highway and we didn't get chased away. At around five in the morning, or five at night, when night owls have gone to sleep and early birds have not yet awakened, we left the ghostly empty town behind.

The final three days together were spent meeting up with mutual friends. A visit to the local pub was mandatory, as was hanging out in parks with snacks, just like five years ago when I first met the gang (and with it my current love) in real life.

The good thing about my definition of 'home' being a person, instead of a place, is that I can take it, him, with me whenever I feel like I've been in the same place for too long. And that happens often. The bad thing is, I also have to leave it, him, behind for more days than I'd like to count.

But I still do. And I still count. Because it won't always be like this and, so long as we still feel each other's heartbeats along with our own, we'll know they're home with us.

"England is a light grey. Wales is a much darker grey." This is how my guide, otherwise known as fy nghariad (Welsh: 'my love'), introduced to me the country I would soon fall in love with. What should have been a four hour drive from the lovely English village he lives in to the town of Aberystwyth, the birthplace of his parents, got longer and longer with every photo (and sometimes coffee) stop I asked to make.

In reality, Wales is far from just grey skies, strong winds and rain. It's green - the green you'll find on wood elves' clothing and, for a more modern analogy, the grass 'on the other side'. It's hills and flower fields, it's small cottages guarded by statuettes of red dragons, it's the smell of salt water in the air and it's... a surprisingly large number of sheep. Dragons need to eat too, I guess.
The more we looked at the (very) strong wind blowing outside, the more inviting the small house became, but we still spent our days and evenings exploring. We dodged our way through the bigger streets of Aberystwyth and snuck around the small alleys. The town is mostly known for its university, so various memes were beckoning us into shops and hairdressers and the American Horror Story font was abused in many a café.

The view from Constitution hill - taken by fy nghariad.

Aberystwyth castle.

Nant-y-moch, as seen through my camera lense

Nant-y-moch, as seen through fy nghariad's lense

Nant-y-moch wasn't the only time wound in Wales.

A very confused slow worm.

In memoriam of a glowing soul.

By far my new favourite shop of all time.

Standing in the middle of the road for a picture.

Adding to the purity of our surroundings, our dreams were shaded in pastel pink and mint and visited by the forest dwellers, dwarves, giants, fairies, imps, dragons and lost boys and girls from children's fairy tales. These were the prominent motifs in the home of fy nghariad's nan, where we would stay. Aside from no hotel fees to pay, this meant home-cooked meals to enjoy, embarrassing baby pictures to share and at least one cat to warm our laps and hearts.

We skipped a few traditions, such as walking along the mile long promenade to kick the fence bars at both ends, but we did have chips and curry in the car by the seaside (I was told this is absolutely necessary to do when in Aber). Of course, we couldn't escape from our own tourist nature and did go around the University of Aberystwyth, the remains of Aberystwyth castle and climb up Constitution hill in the evening to admire the view. On very clear days you can see Ireland on the other side of the Irish sea, if you know what to look for.

Moving on outside of Aber, we made our way to Nant-y-moch - a reservoir holding back water cold enough to freeze time. If only it could reverse it decades back so I could see fy nghariad's father drag race a Mini Cooper down the crossing barely wide enough for one car. Instead, we ended up sucked back into our childhoods, when we'd play tag on the streets in front of our homes with no regard to our safety or that of the items we carried with us.

Well okay, I overdid it. We did watch over our cameras and we haven't even shared our childhood (though the differences between his and mine are minor). But the wind seemed to like rippling the water beneath us in slow motion. In contrast, Devil's Bridge Falls, our next destination, fast forwarded down the mountain slope. We only got a glimpse of it, standing on one of the three bridges, before being sent home by heavy rain.

Finally, a few collective highlights from Aberystwyth, before heading back to England, conveniently splitting the trip into two posts.

'Have you heard the legend of Princess Cappuccino Luna Del Beige and her brother and two sisters? Many moons ago they were kidnapped from their home by an elderly female giant and offered as a gift to another of her kind.'

"I was going to kill them off, but they've grown up a bit and it'd be a pity. Do you want them?" were the words with which the three daughters and one son were introduced to their new captor. Upon seeing they are of royal heritage, however, the second giant immediately assumed her rightful position as their servant and guard. Their Royal Highnesses were given a bed to sleep in, toys to play with and milk to drink until we're full. Well, the bed was a cardboard box, the toys were two other servants and the milk was a cheap imitation of their mother's gourmet meals. Still, it seemed this was all the giants could do and, as Their Majesties were merciful, no severe punishment was given out. It is said that the giants were helping their masters conquer new kingdoms by presenting them to their current giant-rulers, though as of yet, they have not been successful. Yes, dear reader, the legend is true and I am the honourable Princess Cappuccino Luna Del Beige. I am on a quest to claim my place as the rightful ruler of any kingdom and take its giant people under my wing."

"Hear that? She didn't even mention our names once! The readers would much prefer hearing of my bravery and strength and victories in battle! All you do is sleep, bathe and steal our food! I, on the other hand, was the first to climb up the dangerous box and lead all of you into victory. I'm the fastest and strongest of you all! I'm-"

"You, dear brother, share a ridiculous name with me. We both are 'Twosocks' and the only thing that puts you on a pedestal before me is that you're 'Little Sock Number One' and I'm 'Little Sock Number Two'. Now stop boasting (you even weigh less than all of us, for fish's sake)." "Humph. Amateur."

"Say what now?"

"Guys, please! We're here to make a good impression on potential families, not wage war on each other!.. Forgive the interruption, dear reader. My name is Alohamora and our 'quest' began last Monday. We're all too light to put pressure on the keyboard, so we're dictating all of this to our human (not giant - Princess has an affinity to epic stories). I'm sorry to say we cannot travel to those who only speak this language, as the distance is too big, but hopefully we weren't a bother to listen to.